North Korea: New Movie Starring Seth Rogen and James Franco Sparks Controversy

RYAN LIPPERT WRITES – This October, The Interview will give moviegoers a glimpse of what could happen if Seth Rogen and James Franco were hired by the CIA in an attempt to turn an interview with North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Kong-un into an assassination attempt. Though it’s a comedy, not everyone is laughing, especially Kim Myong-chol, who leads the Center for North Korea-U.S. Peace and occasionally acts as an informal mouthpiece for the Hermit Kingdom.

In an article in The Telegraph, Julian Ryall notes that Kim Myong-chol claims that The Interview “shows the desperation in of the US government and American society,” and that it parallels the U.S. government’s actions in other countries such as “Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Ukraine.” Kim Myong-chol also states that an American citizen was behind the JFK assassination.

Further, Julian Ryall also mentions that Kim Myong-chol criticized American films, arguing that they are “full of assassinations and executions,” while praising British movies as being not only superior, but also “more realistic.” He also states “James Bond is a good character.” But, it is clear that North Korea did not enjoy 2002’s Die Another Day, which features their nation as antagonists. There was no mention of the fact that James Bond is a British spy with a Licence to Kill, and therefore, one can expect these films to have their fair share of “assassinations and executions.”

While we may not know if this movie will actually make things worse between the United States and the Hermit Kingdom until October, one can expect that the movie will draw quite a crowd simply for its actors.

About The Author

Ryan Lippert is an LMU alumnus from the class of 2015. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with a minor in Political Science. In his free time, he likes to play video games, read, and hang out with friends and family. He will start attending law school in Fall 2016.

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